I'll Love You a Thousand Times
by Maripics
Summary: She didn't think it was possible. She didn't think it would happen. But it did, and now she's heading towards 2 Hudson Street 27 at three am, wondering what on Earth she was supposed to do. Rated T for language.
1. Good Things Come in Pairs

I've Loved You Once, I've Loved You Twice, I'll Love You a Thousand Times

**Author's Note: Hello! This is my second Newsroom fic, but my first with the Will/Mac pairing. They've been my favorites from the beginning, but they're both such complete characters, and I was – still am – nervous to write about them. I do hope I did them some just anyway, and please enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Newsroom or any of its characters. They all belong to Aaron Sorkin and HBO. **

**Chapter One: Good Things Come in Pairs**

She didn't think it was possible. She didn't think it would happen. But it did, and now she's heading towards 2 Hudson Street 27 at three am, wondering what on Earth she was supposed to do.

It had been about three months. Three months since Will and Mac went out on a star-all-over dinner. Three months since they started their odd, unlabeled relationship.

They went out, they slept together, and they spent time together, but so far, they hadn't felt the urge to define what they had just yet. It was good, and they were having fun, and they both thought they were too old to pretend to have a relationship they really didn't. And so it was, for three good months, until Nina fucking Howard came along and shattered everything. And in one night, Will had managed to get even, fuck Nina Howard and screw up a broadcast.

Mac knew Nina was a revenge fuck. The most hurtful, easy, stupid, meaningless fuck he could find. But none of it made Mac feel any better. She'd cheated, but she'd paid for her sins and what he was doing just wasn't fair.

As she paid the cab fare and walked to the curb, a million thoughts raced through her mind. What was his reaction going to be, if she would be able to forgive him, and if they'd be able to make it. She hurried inside to protect herself from the cold, and the doorman, Manuel, let her inside.

"Night, Manny." She said, her voice raspy and low.

"Night, Ms. McHale." He smiled, pressing the 'up' button on the elevator.

"Thanks." She said, passing the door he held open for her and entering the elevator. She clutched the tiny brown bag in her left hand, pressing the button to the 7th floor with the right.

The elevator ride was short, but it felt incredibly long. The elevator made a ding and she got out, walking to his door and ringing the bell.

She heard the sound of heels tapping in the wooden floors, and she wondered what kind of shoes he owned that made that kind of noise. But the sound she was hearing didn't come from his shoes. No, the sound was coming from the person who opened the door. Nina fucking Howard.

X-X-X-X-X-X

"Mac!" she exclaimed "Lovely to see you."

"Mm, yeah." Mac murmured "You too."

"Do you wanna come in?" the blonde woman asked, and Mac had the feeling that she was being mocked. "I'll call Will if you want. He's just taking a shower. Shouldn't be too long."

"No, actually, I'm in a hurry." She lied "could you give this to him, though? It's rather urgent."

"Yeah, sure." Nina smiled "You sure you don't wanna come in?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." Mac said "Thanks, Nina."

Mac walked towards the elevator, gathering all the energy she had not to cry. The door opened, and entered the vehicle.

"Bloody hell." She said, sounding more British than ever.

She wasn't even sure she could do it with his help, she surely couldn't do without it.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Not fifteen minutes later, she was walking across Central Park, her hands shoved inside her coat pockets and her scarf wrapped tightly around her neck. It was a cold February evening, and she wondered if winter really was the season to be blue.

She never gave the expression much thought, because she always did like the colder weather, but right then, alone in Central Park at night, seeing the happy couples and families around her, she felt less than cheerful.

The buzz of her Blackberry took her out of her trance, and she reached for it in the bottom of her purse.

"Mackenzie McHale." She said, without looking at the caller ID.

"Mac!" Will shouted, his voice a mix of desperation and anger.

"Jesus Christ Billy, was that really necessary?" She reprehended, bringing her phone back to her ear.

"Mackenzie, what's this that Nina just gave me?"

"Oh, she remembered!" she faked "tell her I said thanks!"

"Mac!" he yelled again "What is this?"

"I'm pretty sure you've seen a pregnancy test before, Will."

"Mac, what are you fucking around with me for?" he asked, anger audible in his voice.

"It's a pregnancy test, Will. I'm not fucking around."

"Who's pregnancy test? And why am I holding it?"

"You're not that stupid, Will. You know whose pregnancy test that is, and you know why you're holding it."

"Is it yours?"

"Do you think I'd take somebody else's peed fucking stick and deliver it to your doorstep?"

"You're… you're pregnant?" he asked, stumbling through the last word.

"Yeah, turns out I'm not too old."

"Is it mine?"

"No, Sancho Panza's." she said "of course it's yours. How much of a whore do you think I am?"

"I didn't mean to imply…"

"I know."

"We need to talk."

"What are we doing right now?"

"I mean face to face." He said "you nearby?"

"Not too far."

"Come over, then."

"I really don't want to see your girlfriend right now."

"My girlfriend? You mean Nina?"

"Are you growing dumber with your old age?"

"Mac, Nina's not my girlfriend."

"It's none of my business anyway." She said "I didn't want to interrupt anything."

"You didn't…" he began "Mac, just come over. Nina's not here."

"You sure you want me to come over?" she asked "Don't wanna let it sink?"

"We really need to talk right now."

"Alright. I'll see you in a little bit."

X-X-X-X-X-X

"Hey." He said, opening the door for her "come in."

"Where did Nina go?" she asked, sliding her coat off and handing it to him.

"I have no idea." He said, leading her towards the couch "she doesn't owe me any kind of explanation. After all, we are not dating." He said, emphasizing the words _not _and _dating. _

"Will…"

"Mac, I slept with Nina." He said "You know that, I'm not hiding that. But I am not, and never have been, in a relationship with her."

"You don't owe me any explanation either."

"I think I kind of do now." He said "We are having a baby, after all."

"Can we really do that?" she asked, bringing her legs up to the couch and hugging her knees.

"I have absolutely no fucking idea." He told her "I fucking don't know. But it's not like we have an array of choices."

"Oh Billy, you hopeless romantic." She mocked "we do have other choices."

"No."

"We…"

"No, Mac. We've created something here. No, not something. Someone." He said, taking her hand in his "We've created a person, Mac."

"We did."

"We are so fucked."

X-X-X-X-X-X

"Billy, calm down." Mac asked, placing a comforting hand on his knee.

"I'm perfectly calm, Mac." He said, stubbornly.

She'd told him not three days ago, and in the past seventy-two hours, their lives had been turned upside down. She's slept over at his apartment that night, and the night after that one. On the next day she went to sleep at her own place, but after two hours of tossing and turning, she'd run back to Will's place, carrying her pillow and a bag of clothes, asking for his companion to sleep. They'd both slept better than ever, and Will even had abandoned her in the early morning to make her some pancakes. The smell woke her up, and they had breakfast together. They even rode to work in the same cab. He'd booked her an OB/GYN appointment with an old friend, and asked if he could come along. Mac didn't understand why he felt the need to ask. They were going to do this together. So there they were, in a sunny February 12 morning, sitting in the waiting room at Dr. Pearce Wells' office, both nervous – and happy – as hell.

"Yeah, sure you are." She said "gonna give yourself a heart attack, for God's sake."

She looked at him and gave him a small smile, grabbing his hand in the process.

"Mackenzie McHale?" a young nurse called, holding a small clipboard and looking around the room.

"That's me." Mac said, standing up from her chair "You ready Billy?"

"What if I said no?" he asked, and stood up.

"I wouldn't be able to help you out."

X-X-X-X-X-X

Dr. Wells was a tall, handsome, middle-aged man, who made an amazingly good first impression, transpiring comfort and wisdom.

"Good morning." He said, entering the small room "Will, good to see you!" he said, offering him a hand "long time."

"Too long." Will said, shaking his hand "How are you, Pearce?"

"I'm good. My kids finally stopped shoving things inside their noses – thank god – and I've moved out of the city chaos. Things have been good. And you?"

"Well…"

"Of course." Dr. Wells laughed "You must be Mackenzie." He said, offering Mac a hand "Nice to meet you."

"Yes, you too." Mac smiled.

"I hear you took a pregnancy test a few days ago, and it was positive?"

"Yes." She said "Not one, though. Seventeen."

"Well!" he laughed "that's some seriously skepticism."

"I didn't wanna believe it, I guess." Mac laughed.

"How far along do you think you are?"

"About ten weeks or so." She said "The window is not too big. We weren't… irresponsible every time."

"Okay. How've you been feeling?"

"I've been a little nauseous and lightheaded, but that's all there is to it. I haven't been throwing up or anything, just feeling queasy."

"I can give you something for that, if you'd like." Dr. Wells said "Also, we'll need to run some tests, given your age." He said "For now, you can see the baby and I'll get you an ultrasound picture. How's that?"

"Sounds marvelous." Mac said, smiling brightly at him.

"We get to see it right now?" Will asked, in a mixture of excitement and fear.

"Well, yeah." Dr. Wells said "If you'd like."

"We do." Mac said.

"Alright, follow me."

X-X-X-X-X-X

Mac lay on the table, her dark eyes staring fixatedly at the ceiling. Will held one of her hands and stood on the right said of the bed, and Dr. Wells stood next to a machine on the other side, adjusting some kind of setting on the gadget.

"Ready?" he asked, holding a tube of gel over her stomach.

"Yeah."

The gel felt cold against her belly, and she made some kind of non-understandable sounds.

"Ah, there you go." Dr. Wells said, a couple of minutes later, looking at the screen "Do you see it? There's your baby." He told them "that's the head, and the legs, and…" Dr. Wells stopped abruptly, startling both of them.

"What's wrong?" Will asked, squeezing Mac's hand "Pearce, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Dr. Wells said "Nothing, really. In fact, everything is just right… twice."

"What?" Mac asked, fighting back the urge to wipe the disgusting gel off her stomach.

"Congratulations, guys. You're having twins."

The words 'twins' echoed in their ears for a while, both of them taking some time to process the news.

"We just can't do things the easy way, can we?" Will asked, leaning forward in a way his face was only inches apart from Mac's. He pressed a soft kiss to her lips, and without backing away, he said "We're having babies, Mac."

"Fuck."

**Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this. It's definitely not a one-shot, so if you did, be on the lookout for chapter two, which will be up later this week. Please review and let me know what you think! **


	2. The Rosebuds We Gathered Have Grown

**Chapter 2: The Rosebuds We Gathered Have Grown**

The twins are born on a Wednesday. It's August twenty-first, and the hot weather is still hitting the city hard. Mac was nearly thirty five weeks pregnant, which made for a safe delivery. May Catherine arrives first, at 2:07 am. Named after her mom's favorite author and a character in her dad's favorite book, May comes to the world with a literary name and a great set of lungs. Her brother, whom they named William Sawyer, makes his appearance four minutes later. His middle name is decided a few hours later, when Mac says he reminds her of Tom Sawyer. Billy and May are quite a pair, and seem to have vowed to make their parents insane.

"We did it." Will says, a few moments after the babies are placed in their arms.

"We did." Mac agrees, hypnotized by May's big blue eyes.

"You were awesome." He says, shifting William to his left arm so he could sit next to Mac on the bed and grab her hand "I've seen you do incredible things, Mac, but this…"

"Was otherworldly." She completes, giving his hand a light squeeze.

"Yeah." He says "What the fuck are we doing?"

"I spent the last six months trying to figure it out, and I didn't manage to do so." She says "And don't curse in front of them."

X-X-X-X-X-X

Sloan is the first to visit, at around nine pm. She had two plush toys in her hands, a goofy smile on her face, and when she enters the room, a soft noise comes out of her mouth. It's low, and raspy, and the exact definition of delight. The feeling is ubiquitous in the room, and Sloan doesn't even bother saying hello.

"Oh my god." She exclaims, bending over the bed and looking directly into May's eyes "hello, gorgeous." She says, bringing a finger to her forehead.

"Hey, Sloan." Mac greets, taking advantage of the window "this is May."

"Hello, May." Sloan says, reaching for the tiny pink bundle. Mac passes the baby to her arms, and Sloan cradles May to her chest. She is incredibly immersed in the little girl, and it takes her a few moments to snap out of her trance and notice the other baby, walking towards Will and the little boy.

"And who's this?" she asks, looking at the other bundle.

"This is William." Will says, pushing the blanket off William's face.

"Hello, little guy." She says, mimicking the reaction she had with May "I'm aunt Sloan." She told him "How are you guys doing?" she asked, walking around the cot and placing May back on Mac's arms.

"We're good." Mac answers "How's work?"

"They're saying chemical weapons were used in Syria." She told them, throwing herself on the armchair next to the window. "NPR is calling thirteen hundred deaths."

"Shit." Will said, getting up from the cot abruptly.

"How did I not get an email?" Mac asked, reaching for her phone. Will had placed William on the cradle next to Mac's bed, and pulled his MacBook out of the bag.

"I'll call Jim and Maggie, you get Elliott and Neal." Mac orders "Sloan, could you call Don and the rest of the guys?"

"No!" Sloan shouted, startling the other four people in the room "Guys, you just had two babies. We got the news covered, you handle William and May." She told them "In fact, that's an order. Charlie doesn't want you around for at least a week."

"That's nuts." Will said "We can help you from here." He said, and Mac nodded.

"I know you can, but you won't." Sloan told them "Please, just this time, sit this one out."

"Fine." Mac agreed, even though she knew Will wouldn't want to.

"Okay." Sloan smiled "Now let me get a picture of these two. The guys will kill me if I don't." she said, taking her phone out of her pocked and snapping a picture of each one of the babies. "I'm gonna go. You should probably expect Maggie, she said she'd drop by later. She's pretty excited."

"Alright." Will said "Thanks for coming, Sloan. And thanks for the plush toys."

"No worries. I named them, too." She said, walking towards the door "Paul and Krugman."

"Appropriate."

X-X-X-X-X-X

They were sent home on Saturday. They'd been visited by everyone but Charlie, who had been 'busy' for the whole week, but promised to have dinner with them as soon as they were home. The twins got the oddest – and sweetest – gifts, from baby leather jackets from Tess to their own mini-lightsabers, from Neal. It felt so natural to have them as a part of the gang, and they were never surer that the guys on the newsroom were their family. They got calls from their blood relatives too, and the two grandparents and three aunts/uncles were absolutely ecstatic. The twins fit in, and it was perfect.

"Are they asleep?" Mac asked, lifting her eyes from the paper she was reading.

"Yeah." He said, plopping down next to her on the bed.

"May was easy, but William has the McAvoy genes." He told her "I read five chapters of _1984 _for him before he slept."

"Took me less than that when I read it." She said, running a hand through his hair.

"Me too." He said "What's new?"

"The UN sent a team to Syria to inspect the chemical weapon claim."

"And?"

"Nothing yet, but check this out."

"What?"

"They're thinking it was sarin." She said, with a chuckle.

"That's a very dark sense of humor, Mac." He said, adjusting himself on the bed and motioning for her to come closer.

"What's on your mind, William Duncan McAvoy?"

"How lucky we are."

"Mmm." She murmured, snuggling into his side.

"I think we should call Charlie to dinner tomorrow."

"Sure." She said "And the others, too."

"You sure it's the right time?"

"Yeah." She told him "They're not cursing yet, so the 'yes' chance is bigger."

X-X-X-X-X-X

Charlie was the first one to arrive. He settled himself on the couch, telling Billy stories about Vietnam. The boy was fast asleep on his stroller, but Charlie really didn't care. Jim arrived shortly after, looking even more worn-out than usual. He sat next to Charlie, facing the sleeping little boy. Maggie was next, and came carrying two gift bags and her newly-usual somber countenance. She sat on the armchair, far from Jim and next to the bar. Sloan was the last one, and quickly snatched May from her dad's arms.

"Dinner!" Mac yelled, walking into the dining room carrying a hot pan.

Charlie, Jim, Maggie and Will were quick to follow her, but Sloan stayed behind, still engulfed in May's being.

"Moneyskirt!" Charlie yelled "You coming?"

Sloan let out a sigh and placed May on the swing, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

The six of them now sat in the dining room, quietly eating their dinner.

"So," Mac began "how's dinner?"

"Great." They all said, smiling.

"Did you cook it?" Maggie asked, taking a bite of her chicken.

Everyone else chuckled, and Mac faked vilification.

"I could." She said, defensively "But no, I did not." She said "We wanted to ask you guys something."

The group looked at her questioningly, and she proceeded.

"Well, I feel very strongly about getting the babies some kind of spiritual guidance."

"Which makes no sense whatsoever." Will said.

"Anyway, I feel very strongly about it." She said "I want Billy and May to be Christened, and…"

"Oh my god, Mrs. Prolix!" Will shouted "Just say it already!"

"We want you to be their godparents.

The sentence was followed by an array of oohs and ahhs and a very sound 'fuck me' from Charlie.

"For real?" Maggie asked, setting her fork down.

"Yes." Mac said "We want you and Jim for Billy and Sloan and Charlie for May." She continued "You can say no, but we'd really love if you said yes."

"Of course!" Sloan gushed, with glee.

"I'd be honored." Charlie said.

"Wow guys." Jim said "Yeah, of course, if you really want me to."

"We do." Mac answered "Maggie?"

"Are you sure?"

"We want you to be William's godmother, Maggie." Will said "We really do."

"Yes, of course." She smiled "I'd love to."

X-X-X-X-X-X

"I thought Charlie was supposed to be William's godfather." Will said, entering the broad nursery.

Mac had chosen a safari theme, and Will definitely though she went overboard. There was a four feet tall giraffe standing on the back wall, and the painted mural of a rainforest kind of clashed with some of the animals she'd chosen, but it was a beautiful nursery nonetheless. It was a tiny shrine, and the twins were kind of swallowed by the majesty of the room.

"I thought it would be better if he and Sloan paired up to tame May. She'll be our tough one."

"Was that it? Or you're still trying to play matchmaker?"

"I certainly was not." She said, closing the snaps on May's bodysuit.

"God, Mac." He exclaimed, retracting Billy from his crib "You're getting too old for this."

"You're a charmer, Billy." She mocked, lifting May from the changing table and planting a sloppy kiss on her cheek.

"I know."

"I was talking to the baby."

"Okay." He said, putting Billy back down and walking to Mac to get May.

"Goodnight, Katie bear." Mac said, before passing May to her dad's arms.

"She's gonna get confused with all of those names."  
"She will not, okay?" Mac said "Sawyer, on the other hand…"

X-X-X-X-X-X

It was about two am on Monday when the doorbell rang. It startled them both, so Mac went to check on the babies and Will went to answer the door, baseball bat in hand. Imagine his surprise when Maggie was standing on the other side of the door.

"Maggie." He said "you scared us shitless. What's going on?"

"I'm sorry." She said, her voice breaking "I just… I had a really horrible day and…"

"Do you wanna come in?" he asked, ushering her inside the apartment before she could answer.

"I really am sorry."

"It's okay." Will said "Do you wanna talk? I can get Mac."

"Actually, I just…" Maggie began "I know it's insane and I'll understand if you say no, but my say was really shitty and I was wondering if I could see the babies."

"You wanna see the twins?" he asked, incredulously.

"I'm sorry I even asked." She said, walking to the door "It's just that they make me feel better, that's all."

"Maggie." He called "I'll take you to the nursery."

"Are you sure?"

"Come on." He said, motioning towards the hallway. "Mac?" he called, from the doorframe.

She was holding Billy close to her chest in a protective pose and Will felt a slight flutter in his stomach. She looked beautiful, and so incredibly strong.

"Who was at the…" she began, turning around "Maggie! Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine."

"Mac, can we talk out here?" he asked, pointing outside "Maggie, take William, will you?"

"Sure." Mac said, passing Billy onto Maggie's arms. They stepped outside the room, and Mac was quick to shower Will with questions.

"What's going on? What's Maggie doing here?" she asked, leaning into him and resting her head on his chest.

"I have no idea. She said she had a rough day and the kids make her feel better, so I brought her here to be with them for a little bit." He said, as they watched Maggie rock Billy softly. Mac was fairly sure she was crying, but the room was dark, so she couldn't really tell.

Maggie had been on a downward spiral since Uganda. She had been drinking too much, sleeping around far too often, and no one knew what they could do to help her. It made Mac crazy, but she thought Maggie was doing better recently. Apparently, she was wrong.

"Do you think they can help her heal?" she asked, running a hand through his forearm.

"I hope so." He said, truthfully.

He really did hope they could.

**Author's Note: So yeah, time jump. I've decided not to follow a timeline, so the next chapter might be set before Mac gave birth, or on their tenth birthday. Worry not, though, 'cause I'll signalize everything properly. Thanks for reading! **


End file.
